The Grief of Change
Throughout our lives we will experience the natural process of grief. We will experience it more than once, and it will not always involve death. We can grieve for any form or loss, or change.
Grief is a cycle of emotions and emotion is energy = energy in motion. It is documented that there are seven stages in the process of loss or grief (see below *). Feelings and the release of emotion do not necessarily follow a strict order. They happen and release when their time is right. Emotions come in waves and just like the sea sometimes those waves are calm, gentle and rhythmic; sometimes brooding. Then there are the storms when you just have to sit tight, batten down the hatches and ride through.
“All know that the drop merges into the ocean but few know that the ocean merges into the drop” Kabir (1450-1518)
This is how I see our time in lockdown; an emotional time when we are quite literally sitting tight with the hatches battened down . . . waiting, waiting, waiting. This is a strange time for some, bringing feelings of insecurity, fear of the unknown. Grief for the freedom of life as we knew it, the loss of social lives that we normally live and the travelling we were doing or about to do.
Every aspect of your body is linked to the emotions. Emotions may be as gentle as feeling teary or feeling overwhelmed by a sense of anxiety, anger or frustration.
People now find they have ‘spare time’ available. What a gift. Use this time wisely and explore the true philosophies and wisdom of Yoga. This is a great time for the study and acceptance of self; and to be non-judgemental of your thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is a reminder to live in the present moment without the usual ‘clock watching’ governance of life. Now you have the freedom the time to linger and deepen into your Yoga.
Three things to remember:
Understand emotion, don’t suppress it;
Emotional suppression causes blocks;
Express emotions without harming yourself and others.
*In her early writings, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross initially documented five stages of Loss/Grief; this was extended to seven stages: Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Testing and Acceptance.
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